A brief history of Divonne :
It was around 1685 that Divonne became an important town , before that it was only a small village in the pays de Gex . Here is a historical time-line .
Prehistorical time : A megalithic, carved, white granite stone (4m x 3.5m x 1.5m) has been found . A Celtic temple (temple of the sun) has been discovered on Mont Mussy.
From 50 B.C. to 400 A.D. : The Romans take control of the region after routing the Helvètes. Traces have been found of a Roman cottage and a 7 kilometer long aqueduct that fed Nyon with Divonne water.
From 400 A.D. to 534 : The Bourguignons receive the pays de Gex as a gift of thanks for their help in repelling Atila the Hun and his army.
From 534 to 752 : Pépin le bref (so called because of his short stature) lives in the pays de Gex, around 732 the Sarazins take refuge in the region after their defeat at Poitier; bringing with them the disease Leprosy, whose sufferers were quarantined in special centres. A number of places en the pays de Gex have kept their name (Portes de Sarrazines , niches à Sarazins).
From 752 to 928 : Gex county belongs to Charlemagne's empire , his son Louis "le Débonnaire" shares the empire among his children, Charles 2 "le chauve" governs the part of the kingdom comprising Switzerland and the pays de Gex. After his death until 1374, governorship fell to Boson king of Arles and his successors.
Around 1050 : Jean, Divonne's first sire .
11th century : The Divonne's first castle is built, to be destroyed in 1590 by the Genevois .
1137 : Walcher Divonne's first lord.
End of the 12th century : The lordship of the pays de Gex passes to the family of the Count of Amedee of Geneva.
In 1252 : until 1374, control of the region passes to the Joinville family after the marriage between Simon de Joinville and Leonette "Princess of Gex".
15th , 16th and a part of 17th century : The "maison" of Gingins, influential regional family, takes control of Divonne.( wedding between Aymonette de Joinville and Jacques de Gingins).
Noble families always looked to enlarge their wealth and power by wedding their children to those of influential rulers.
1536 to 1564 : The Bernois invade the Pays de Gex .
1580 : The Genevois retake control .
1601 : Control of the Pays de Gex passes to the French .
Second part of the 17th century : Gilbert de la Forest becomes the Baron de Divonne . His family origines go back to de 10th century . He had a number of illustrious descendants. The Caproni family develop Divonne around their paper pulp factory.
18th century : Roads become larger, a free trade zone is created. The influence of the French revolution is felt.
19th century : Paul-Jean-Baptiste Vidart (1817 to1873) born in Nancy, creates the thermal spa at Divonne. In 1830 the first patients enjoyed the water's qualities. In 1855 the station becomes famous , its first renowned patient, the Prince Jerome Bonaparte.
90% of Divonne's population are farmers .
The 11 October 1892 the town becomes Divonne-les-bains .
20th century : Improvements to the spa at Divonne lead to greater success. Visitors arrive from afar seeking the health giving waters.
The two world wars strike a death blow to the spa town and to its inhabitants.
In 1945, Marcel Anthonioz becomes mayor of Divonne, he is later elected deputy and minister of state . With his savoir faire he is able to relaunch the town : with urban renovation, the casino (opened in1954), the new spa building, the swimming pool , the artificial lake , the hippodrome and the golf course .
Recently the town has been modernised : new lakeside cultural centre and library , further improvement of the spa facilities with numerous events and activities throughout the year.
Bibliography :
Histoire du pays de GEX (M. Beatrix)
Histoire de Divonne et de ses environs (A. Lamy et L. De Sergey)
Divonne au fil des siècles (Raymond Grosgurin)